January 12, 2018

January 12, 2018

On the way to Hellfire Pass yesterday, we passed Nine Army Battle Historical Park. When I looked it up I found it to be one battle site in a centuries-long war between Burma and Siam (now Myanmar and Thailand). The railway follows the historical invasion route used by Burma.

Bangkok has been the capital of Thailand for just over two centuries. It was moved here after Burma sacked and burned Ayutthaya, the previous capital, on its sixth attempt. The ruins of Ayutthaya are now a World Heritage Historical Park.

It takes us several hours to make the drive. Along the way we make two stops at roadside stands to check out local specialties. The first was Khao Lam, a Sticky Rice pudding prepared by mixing rice,
coconut milk, sugar and black beans. The concoction is cooked in foot-long bamboo cylinders. We cracked several flavors open and shared. All were a delicious treat.

In rice country, farmers trap rats to keep them from eating the harvest. Instead of tossing them, they BBQ them up. I assume they taste like chicken. For the squeamish, the rat stand also offered Quail.

Ayutthaya survived five Burmese sieges because it sits on an easily defended island in the Chao Phraya River. Before it was burnt in 1767, European accounts describe the capital as magnificent containing hundreds of temples. By tradition only temples were made of stone. Homes, including the Royal Palace, were wooden. So only the temples survived total destruction. Today the modern city of Ayutthaya has grown up around the old temple ruins.

Our first stop is Wat Chai Watthanaram.
Built in 1630, it resembles the Khmer temples of Angkor, with a tall central Prang (Mt. Meru) surrounded by eight conical chapels connected by passageways. Time has not been kind though. Most of the limestone and plaster facing is gone leaving just the brick under-structure. Grave robbers plundered most Stupas of their relics.

We took a break from Ayutthaya and drove to the nearby Summer Palace at Bang Pa-In. Most of the

construction dates from the late 1800s under King Rama IV and V. They were enamored with European styling so it dominates the architecture. Only a couple buildings look Oriental. The grounds are well-manicured and park-like. I was bored until I saw a large Monitor lizard hanging out on the edge of one pond.

After a buffet lunch, we drove back to Ayutthaya. It is interesting to drive around this large island city and see temple ruins interspersed everywhere.

Our last stop was Wat Mahathat. This is a much older 14th century royal monastery. The ground must be very poor as many of the Prang towers and Stupas are leaning. The central Prang is missing its top because it collapsed multiple times.

In the temples we have seen hundreds of Buddha statues but most are missing their heads. This temple has one head that was laying around so long tree roots have grown around it.